title: Indiscriminate amygdala response to mothers and strangers after early maternal deprivation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In altricial species, maternal stimuli have powerful effects on amygdala development and attachment-related behaviors. In humans, maternal deprivation has been associated with both "indiscriminate friendliness" toward non-caregiving adults and altered amygdala development. We hypothesized that maternal deprivation would be associated with reduced amygdala discrimination between mothers and strangers and increased parent report of indiscriminate friendliness behaviors.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixty-seven youths (33 previously institutionalized; 34 comparison; age-at-scan 4-17 years) participated in a functional magnetic resonance imaging experiment designed to examine amygdala response to mother versus stranger faces. In-scanner behavior was measured. Indiscriminate friendliness was assessed with parental report.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Comparison youth showed an amygdala response that clearly discriminated mother versus stranger stimuli. Previously institutionalized youths, by contrast, exhibited reduced amygdala discrimination between mothers and strangers. Reduced amygdala differentiation correlated with greater reports of indiscriminate friendliness. These effects correlated with age-at-adoption, with later adoptions being associated with reduced amygdala discrimination and more indiscriminate friendliness.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results suggest that early maternal deprivation is associated with reduced amygdala discrimination between mothers and strangers, and reduced amygdala discrimination was associated with greater reports of indiscriminate friendliness. Moreover, these effects increased with age-at-adoption. These data suggest that the amygdala, in part, is associated with indiscriminate friendliness and that there might be a dose-response relationship between institutional rearing and indiscriminate friendliness.
authors.affiliation: David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California; Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California. Electronic address: aolsavsky@mednet.ucla.edu.
authors.forename: Aviva K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Olsavsky
authors.forename: Eva H
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Telzer
authors.forename: Mor
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shapiro
authors.forename: Kathryn L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Humphreys
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Flannery
authors.forename: Bonnie
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Goff
authors.forename: Nim
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tottenham
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000339:Affect / Q000502:physiology; D000679:Amygdala / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008426:Maternal Deprivation; D009035:Mothers
keywords: Affective salience; amygdala development; attachment; indiscriminate friendliness; institutional rearing; maternal deprivation